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5 Tips to Help Save Fuel and Promote Eco-Driving

In Japan, the recent earthquake resulted in a short-term fuel shortage that hit us hard – literally fuel was not available at gas stations. Eco-Driving was an operational imperative, as it became even more important while we secured alternative sources of fuel.

Along with the other safety briefs about earthquake aftershocks, recovery efforts, and the nuclear crisis, FedEx Express added re-enforcement in our communications with couriers regarding Eco-Driving. Since they already knew the 5 tips well, they came through in a big way and were able to stretch the fuel we had.

For Japan, Eco-Driving was not just about a contribution to the environment – it was a necessity. How the couriers used the 5 tips when it counted helped us to be there for our customers who were depending on us more than ever for critical shipments.

Here are the 5 Eco-Driving Tips:

No idling while stopped

Gentle acceleration

Maintaining flat speed

Easing off the accelerator early before braking

Careful use of A/C

Now that life have calmed down in Japan, we are focusing on promoting even higher awareness of the 5 tips as well as some other great ideas brought up by the team. On our recent conference call, FedEx Express Japan shared the first edition of the Eco-Driving newsletter to promote awareness and discussed a future eco-driving contest. The team also had great ideas about preventative measures for the vehicles that showed some good initial results that could become common practice. It’s fantastic to be on these calls with the FedEx Asia-Pacific team and hear employee ideas about how to make the 5 tips work even harder for us.

Asia is not the only place where Eco-Driving is a hot topic. We recently held a conference call with our colleagues in Europe and Latin America to discuss with them how a roll out in their markets might happen. We also started a discussion with the United States group to move Eco-Driving reporting into the online tool, making it easier to see the results of the 5 tips by market as well as document our contribution to the company’s overall efforts.

With the number of vehicles and people FedEx has on the road, increasing awareness of how easy it is to contribute is key. The 5 tips are simple and anyone can do it at work or in their own private vehicle. If we all chip in a little bit – the results can make a huge difference!

As a company we’re committed to our customers, the communities we operate in and to each other – it’s inspiring for me to see the reaction to the Eco-Drive 5 tips and motivates me to continue “driving” the effort.